23 April 2013

CROWS BUILD A NEST ON A CROW'S NEST

A pair of crows has built their nest atop a yacht's mast at a marina in Wales, UK. The owner is happy they chose his boat, though he jokes he'll take it down when the young are fledged because he fears looking ridiculous at sea, reports the BBC.
As for the term "crow's nest," a US Navy page on the origins of naval terminology claims:

The raven, or crow, was an essential part of the Vikings' navigation equipment. These land-lubbing birds were carried on aboard to help the ship's navigator determine where the closest land lay when weather prevented sighting the shore. In cases of poor visibility, a crow was released and the navigator plotted a course corresponding to the bird's flight path because the crow invariably headed towards land. The Norsemen carried the birds in a cage secured to the top of the mast. Later on, as ships grew and the lookout stood his watch in a tub located high on the main mast, the name "crow's nest" was given to this tub. While today's Navy still uses lookouts in addition to radars, etc., the crow's nest is a thing of the past.